I hope no one will take offense if I correct some errors/misunderstandings about housing distinctions and codes.
There really is no universal or official distinction between "mobile", "manufactured", and "modular" homes. As a generalization, any residential structure that is either assembled off-site in a manufacturing environment, or is is site assembled of major components that were built off-site in a manufacturing environment, is a "manufactured home". This basically includes anything from travel trailers to large, top-of-the line modular houses.
The standards for manufactured homes are governed either by state and local building codes, or by the (federal) HUD code. State and local codes almost always establish a higher standard for safety, thermal, and structural standards than the HUD code. The HUD code was really written to set minimum standards for the previously unregulated, or loosely regulated, mobile home industry.
For purposes of resolving zoning issues, and litigation over restrictive covenants, North Carolina (where I am) has made this distinction:
If it was equipped with a set of axles and wheels and was transported to the site in that manner, it is "mobile home", no matter how many sections it has. If it was transported by any other means than its own wheels, it is not a mobile home. Even if it has a steel frame underneath, if was trucked in, as opposed to its own wheels, it is not a mobile home here in NC.
I am reaasonably sure other states have made different distinctions and established other categories.
BTW, I am a real estate broker, a residential builder, and developer. I stumbled onto this thread because I own (along with Well Fargo, BAC, and some other lendors, of course <gg>) 8 single family homes that I have bought as rentals over the past 10 years, counting on the appreciation to pay me a return.
bill |
